Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-05-06

is nothing 80 cheap, and at the same time
SO we'll suited to the purpose, as an inside
iinlng OF tasred paper. The cold and
frost are kept out, the paper serving also
as O protection against insects. Care
should be taken to bank the house where
exposed, and it should be made as tight as
possible compatible with suitable y%entiia.
ton.
The cir in o hen-house must be pure and
constantly renewed, Us the ammonia aris-
ing from the %droppings and impurities
from the bird render it injurious to the
health OF the fowls in a very short time.
Circular holes cut into the sides of the
building, and q sliding board arranged SO
they may be adjusted in mild or extreme
weather, make excellent ventilators. The
mousse should be whitewashed; the perches
gone over often with kerosene; the hny in
the nests taken out occasionally and re-
plenlshed with new, and until the first
enemy met with in shutting up fowls, lice,
is overcome.
Ground tobacco stems with a small
quantity of supercarbolate of limo is ex-
cellent as an insecticide scattered in the
nests and about the house. The lime is
very good by itself as o disinfectant, o
little in the whitewash bucket serving as an
additional safeguard.
For the summer time a fowl if given
range lind insects, worms, plenty of green
ter the case is different; being confined
they must be supplied with those articles
necessary to health. To feed o fowl,
whether for fancy or for eggs, requires
great care. They must not be overfed, as
hens will not lay il fat. Feed as much as
they will eat up clean. Variety in food
adds greatly to the health Of fowls and to
the egg production, especially in the cold
months. Good feeding of fowls in winter
calls for large percentage Of cooked food.
A not breakfast should always be given as
early as possible. It should be warm and
weh cooked. A good feed is made up of q
mash one-third corn and oats ground to.
gether, one.third wheat middlings. one
one-sixth boiled meat. This served to the
fowls early will be eaten greedily, and the
hens will feel in a conditions to commence
laying at once. A little red pepper in this
early feed is good, and every other day
throw IN some ground bone.
The poultry should have green food
daily, such as steamed clover, rowen, cab.
bages, chopped onions, and beets. Onions
are considered the preventive of the roup.
b best way to prepare rowen is to simply
put the amount to be used in o barrel, pour
on hot water, and cover the. barrel up, let
ting it sit for q couple of hours, when it
is ready for use. This feeding should be
at noon. At night give them all the whole
corn, wheat, oats, and buckwheat they will
eat.
A pile of millet straw with heads is a
coed thing for the birds to pick over, giving
them exercise. Corn on the cob is good
for this purpose. With some breeders it
is a custom to scatter corn over the floor Of
the houses, which for practical purposes
should be made of screened gravel, and
then draw the earth lightly over the corn
With q rake, thus furnishing a novel mode
of exercise. A good winter house should
also have a shed which the fowls can use
in mild weather, avoiding the necessity of
shoveling the snow n of the yard.
Ground oyster shells and bone should be
constantly at hand. There is nothing a
fowl likes as we'll as a dust bath, and coal
ashes, road dust, or dry earth are valuable.
The road dust and earth may be got in the
early fall and kept i'll barrels.
The winter quarters should have plenty
of windows facing the south, as the sun is
a valuable adjunct in profitable poultry
keeping. Dampness should be avoided,
as 1t is conducive to roup Inc many other
diseases. The fowls should have plenty of
fresh water, and the pans should be scrupu-
lousy clean, as they are apt to become
Shiny. Care should be taken to remove
all cooked food not eaten, as sour feed is
the curse of the poultry yard. Tho drop
pings should be removed as often as possi-
bic, and if properly taken care of will
prove n valuable addition to the profits,
the amount of guano being estimated at rs
cents to fowl during the year. The golden
rules are care, feeding, and cleanliness.-
| American CuHivutor.